Privacy And Procedure

Aim:

The Swimming Pool & Spa Association of Australia (SPASA) and its related entities is dedicated to protecting the personal information entrusted to it. The aim of this policy is to articulate our strong commitment to maintaining the security and integrity of personal information within our care and endorse the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988. These principles govern how organisations handle personal information

Purpose

The purpose of this privacy policy is to:

• give individuals and companies we deal with a better and more complete understanding of the sort of personal information that SPASA and or its related entities holds, and the way we handle that information;
• clearly communicate the personal or sensitive information handling practices of SPASA and or its related entities; and
• enhance the transparency of SPASA’s operations.

Why we collect personal information

We collect personal information about you which is reasonably necessary to:

Without such information, we may not be able to properly process some or all of your requests or provide you with an appropriate level of service.

What Information SPASA collects

SPASA and or its related entities collect a range of information from members, companies and customers that are related to membership, training, products and services, expos and other events.

In the course of doing business, we may collect information such as: names, addresses, telephone numbers, credit card information, images, videos and e-mail addresses, demographic information and products and services; depending on the nature of the transaction with us.

How We Collect Information

As much as possible, SPASA and or its related entities collect information directly from members and customers we do we business with. We do this in several ways, including when individuals or companies:

• enquire or join SPASA as a member
• register to attend meetings, conferences etc
• provide us with personal information over the phone or through personal mobile computing devices, like smart phones and tablets;
• fill out application forms; or
• submit personal details through SPASA and related entity websites.

We may also collect unsolicited and solicited personal information indirectly, through publicly available sources, or through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google as well as information through our related entities.

SPASA and or its related entity websites record standard information such as time, date and URL of visits and requests made by all our web servers. This information allows us to track visitor pattern usage and is used to improve the functionality, structure and performance of our websites.

Using Personal Information

We use personal information to better understand our member and customers interests and needs in the following ways:

• provide, deliver, source, administer, improve and personalise our products and services;
• process payments and facilitate transactions;
• enable related entities and our third-party service providers to provide us with IT products and services, carry out product investigations, data processing, data analysis, business consulting, auditing, archiving, printing, delivery and mailing services;
• provide more relevant marketing offers through direct marketing, database compilation, market research, data analysis and segmentation, and the processing or creation of other marketing information;
• combine or compile with publicly available information for the processing or creation of marketing offers and information;
• personalising member and customer experiences, including, where appropriate, identifying individuals;
• communicating with our members and customers, including responding to queries and complaints;
• develop and expand our operations to better suit our member and customers’ needs, such as planning for future events and activities; and
• maintaining and keeping our member and customer information current and as accurate as possible.

Data security and Retention

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information against misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include:

When no longer required, we destroy or archive personal information in a secure manner.

Online Transactions

Ordering products, booking events, advertising and training online through SPASA and or its related entities is designed to be as simple as possible, while still providing security and privacy for all your details. You can pay for goods, services and training using various forms of payments including credit cards. We only store credit card information where necessary to process your payment securely.

While will strive to protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us over the internet or receive from our online products and services. These activities are conducted at your own risk.

Email and SMS Subscription Lists

If you elect to register or receive information from SPASA and or its related entities, some of your personal information will be required to facilitate that request. We may also use SMS, search engine and social media sites to make marketing offers which may be of interest to you.

You can opt out of these communications directly from the messages you receive.

Employees

We collect personal information from current, future and past employees directly and from third parties who have agreed to provide human resources related services to SPASA and or its related entities. We use this personal information to provide employment related services like Professional Development, Coaching and Remuneration & Payroll.

Third parties are engaged to provide some of these services and in doing so are all contractually obliged to comply with the Privacy Act.

Access and correction to information we hold about you

Where practicable you will have access to the information that you provide to us.

Exceptions to this include:

• where providing access will provide a serious threat to life or health of any individual or pose an unreasonable impact on the privacy of an individual;
• your request for access is frivolous or vexatious;
• where providing access would be unlawful or may prejudice an investigation of possible unlawful activity.

You can update information SPASA or its related entities holds if your circumstances have changed. Requests to change information must be made in writing.

What to do if you have a problem or question

If SPASA and or its related entities becomes aware of any ongoing concerns or problems you may have with our handling of your personal information, we will work to address these concerns in a timely manner.

Any query relating to our Privacy Policy must be made in writing.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

SPASA may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting an updated version of this policy on our websites.

Additional Privacy Information

For further information about privacy issues and the protection of privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner’s web site at www.privacy.gov.au.

Disclosure

We do not disclose personal information to third parties unless we are permitted to do so by law or you have given us your consent to do so. Third parties we may disclose personal information to include:

• related entities;
• service providers including IT service providers, advertising and marketing service providers; and third-party fulfilment contractors;
• professional advisors including our accountants, auditors and lawyers;
• payment system operators and financial institutions; and
• government agencies.